97th District: George W. Grayson

November 01, 1989

Voters in the 97th District, which includes the counties of James City, New Kent and the eastern portion of Henrico, have a state delegate they can be proud of and one they can return to office with full confidence. George W. Grayson may not be the perfect politician or lawmaker, but he comes close. He is a statesman who combines wisdom, legislative skill and community concerns in helping to shape the laws of the Commonwealth.

The main charge that challenger Brian Wright of New Kent has leveled against this incumbent legislator is that he only "studies" the problems and can't build a coalition to get anything done. Well, we wish more lawmakers - and would-be politicians - would study the issues a little more before popping off with suggestions and solutions. And as for building coalitions, Grayson has done so successfully in the past to protect wetlands and a portion of the lower James River.

Forging a coalition is easy, if you pick one like the developers, builders and real estate agents. Unfortunately for Grayson, such coalitions are often stacked against him. The best example of that was his two attempts at getting a historic preservation bill through the General Assembly. While it wasn't his bill per se, he did carry the fight to Richmond on behalf of a very large coalition of Williamsburg-area business, government and civic leaders.

And although the developers' coalition proved stronger, Grayson's efforts to help preserve the physical and aesthetic environment of the Williamsburg area did pay off. A tree ordinance and conditional zoning, two measures he championed, were incorporated in other legislation that now provides localities with a way of dealing with growth.

Grayson is not afraid to place himself at odds with the big boys. He introduced legislation during the last session to require lobbyists to report all the money they spend to influence legislators. That effort failed, however, and lobbyists still only have to tell what they dole out during the couple of months the legislature is in session; what's spent the rest of the year remains a secret.

During his 15 years in office, Grayson has worked hard for environmental issues, mental health, consumer protection, the rights of police and firemen, and animal protection. And he has other important matters that need his expertise in the upcoming session.

Grayson was selected to chair the Commission on Local Governmental Structures and Relations, which will introduce a bill next year to substantially alter the historic separation between cities and counties in Virginia. Localities will be encouraged to work more closely together and refrain from annexation, while the state pays more of the costs of health, mental health and social services.

He is also chairing the Joint House-Senate Subcommittee on Creating a Fair Campaign Practices Commission. If such a commission is developed, it could serve as a way of bringing a degree of civility to political races, something that has been lacking of late.

Efforts to revamp city/county relations and monitor political campaigns will probably be as controversial as many of the other measures that Grayson has been party to. But maybe that's why his colleagues gave him those jobs in the first place; they knew he would not flinch from the task.

The corridor between Richmond and Williamsburg will face some profound strains and stresses in the years ahead, many of them involving the environment and development. With both gubernatorial candidates being so indebted to big developers for their huge campaign contributions, it would be prudent to have Grayson in Richmond to say: "Hey, fellas, let's not cut every tree and pave every acre."

George Grayson has served the voters of the 97th District extremely well. He has earned their confidence, trust and the right to return to the General Assembly in 1990.